Working in the medical facility of the Citadel was fulfilling and the knowledge she gained about a vast array of species was interesting and added to the other areas of study that she had taken on.

Regular mail from her brother kept her informed of his activities and he had indeed headed into the job of Alliance bodyguard.

“Healer Gralial, you have a visitor.”

Gray finished setting the bone of the patient and let her assistants complete the sedation. It was an altered Selna under her hands and she had learned early on, to her surprise, that she could not heal genetically altered beings. She reset them back to their birth specifications.

After cleaning her hands, she exited the medical centre and walked to the visitor’s garden. Her brother stood with a negotiator at his side.

Her improved analytical senses could see that it was not the same negotiator that had removed her from the enclave.

“Garoz, welcome to the Citadel.”

He stepped forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead in the manner he had taken on once he had given up on her response to a kiss on her cheek. “Thank you for seeing us. I see you have been busy.”

He nodded to her robes and she looked down to note that she was stained with blood from the patient in medical. “An accident. She fell out of a tree.”

“I see. Well, this is Negotiator Barks. She has a proposal for you.”

With Garoz’s arm around her, she looked at the negotiator. “Yes?”

“With the agreement of the Citadel, you are being offered a position as a member of the Sector Guard. You will receive training on Station 13 and then move on to a permanent post at another base.” The featureless mask nodded encouragingly.

“Certainly. Do we leave now or shall I pack?”

The featureless creature in the armour held a posture of surprise. “I had heard about it…yes, you may pack and we will be on our way the moment you are ready.”

Gray nodded and went to get her clothing. She removed the set of robes she was wearing and sent them down the laundry chute. With fresh robes and a small satchel, she was ready for her next assignment. Perhaps there would be more to learn in the Sector Guard.

Saving her fiancé showed Gralial’s people what a freak she was and they punished her accordingly by removing her soul. Left with only intelligence and her talent, Gray must start a new life in the Alliance as the Sector Guardsman Hard Hearted.

She is assigned to Teklan base as their healer and physician and partnered with a being that she never even heard of.

As a Nilshan Animorph, Mist has spent his time as an enforcer for the Alliance. When he was offered this position, and Gralial as a partner, he jumped at the chance to protect the woman whose lack of a soul keeps her from caution, fear, or passion.